The sketchbook I’m working on for the Brooklyn Art Library’s Sketchbook Project now has a name, a working title: “Time Tavern”. As you can see from previous posts I’m thinking about time – and uses of time in cooking, food service, music and in telling wordless visual stories.

When I began this project I’d thought “Time Tavern” would be the title but I held off declaring it until I’d drawn a few pages. Things sometimes change as a drawing progresses – particularly when I’m working on a wordless visual story.

In my earlier posts (see below for links) I’d shown close-ups of musicians and a chef at work. I’d also shown a birthday party in progress. These 3 story strands are main ones – but they also need context in order to become a story. The association or juxtaposition of images – and the sequence of them – is how I’m crafting my tale visually rather than by written words in a row.

The issue is how to do the same things writers who use written words do – plot movement, foreshadowing and character development – but in my case how to do those using only visual imagery.

As part of my original planning for this story I created a “layout” of the “Time Tavern” the pub setting where my story takes place. This layout is part of my story strand weaving strategy. Here you see my architectural layout:

This architectural drawing won’t be included in my sketchbook – that’s just to help me organize my story. The book to the side in the above photo is included as it shows me referring to my architectural drawing during work on that sketchbook page.

Below is one of the first setting drawings within my “Time Tavern” sketchbook – it shows the chef looking at his recipe cards. In the background you see the bartender looking at her recipe cards. You also see a bit of the stage area the musicians will use. Perhaps you can see how I’ll be using my setting drawings as story context – and foreshadowing?

I’m sure you’ll also note the large clocks in my settings – I’m using those as a story device to show the progression of time…

Here is a photo of what my desk looks like today. I’ve got lots of art projects going on – big hairy deadlines – but it’s too hot to draw or cut paper and glue it. I’ve been drinking iced tea by the gallon and so far I’ve not spilled tea on the paper. (whew!) The papers I glued earlier are drying slowly because we’re having a rare hot humid day in Washington. So here I am twiddling my virtual thumbs on this blog. And drinking my tea.

Typically I work a everyday on my projects no matter how I feel or what’s going on around me. I don’t think an artist has to “feel” a particular way in order to be creative, and I find that even if I’m “not in the mood” if I just start on a project pretty soon my brain is full of fun artistic stuff, the world falls away and time passes in a blur – but today…. today my brain is packed with “it’s hot!” – so instead of my art projects I’m thinking cool thoughts and trying to get my brain off the “it’s hot!” mono-wagon.

What would a good bartender would put in my iced tea? Who invented ice cube trays? I remember the metal trays my grandmother had when I was a kid…the trays had a lever that cracked the ice and enabled you to get a cube out. I stuck my tongue on the metal tray. Once.

If I’m not working on my art projects today at the very least I could draw my iced tea glass.

What’s the weirdest thing I ever drew? Cow intestines. I was a biological illustrator once-upon-a-time and my cow-innards artwork illustrated a scientific article about bovine digestive systems. Believe it or not it was a fun project and, really, cow intestines aren’t weird…if you’re a cow.

Back to today; maybe I’ll leave my studio desk as it is and go read “Make Good Art” by Neil Gaiman. Usually that book is a jolt of “atta-girl you can do it! The world needs you!” which spurs me on in my art studio work.